[nfb-talk] Fw: Accessible Devices (Hybrid cars article

[Sherri]

What about our room situation? I thought it was all worked out. Help!!!!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bryan Schulz" <b.schulz at sbcglobal.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 25, 2009 10:03 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Fw: Accessible Devices (Hybrid cars article


> hi Sherri,
>
> Tell me if you plan to respond to our room situation.
>
> Bryan Schulz
> The BEST Solution
> www.best-acts.com
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
> To: "NFB of Florida Listserv" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>; "NFB Talk Mailing List" 
> <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 25, 2009 8:53 PM
> Subject: [nfb-talk] Fw: Accessible Devices (Hybrid cars article
>
>
>> Interesting article.
>> Sherri
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Parker at Vip conduit" <Vipcomm at mchsi.com>
>> To: "Accessible Devices" <a-d at accessible-devices.com>
>> Sent: Monday, May 25, 2009 12:54 PM
>> Subject: Accessible Devices (no subject)
>>
>>
>>> It seems that both the blind and sighted community agree on this one.
>>> Manufacturers Determine Hybrid Cars Should Have Noise Generators
>>> The sound of silence May 7th 2009
>>>>From The Economist print edition Sound generators will make electric and 
>>>>hybrid cars
>>> safer WHEN cars run on electric power they not only save fuel and cut 
>>> emissions but
>>> also run more quietly. Ordinarily, people might welcome quieter cars on 
>>> the roads.
>>> However, as the use of hybrid and electric vehicles grows, a new concern 
>>> is growing
>>> too: pedestrians and cyclists find it hard to hear them coming, 
>>> especially when the
>>> cars are moving slowly through a busy town or manoeuvring in a car park. 
>>> Some drivers
>>> say that when their cars are in electric mode people are more likely to 
>>> step out
>>> in front of them. The solution, many now believe, is to fit electric and 
>>> hybrid cars
>>> with external sound systems.
>>> A bill going through the American Congress wants to establish a minimum 
>>> level of
>>> sound for vehicles that are not using an internal-combustion engine, so 
>>> that blind
>>> people and other pedestrians can hear them coming. The bill's proponents 
>>> also want
>>> that audible alert to be one that will help people judge the direction 
>>> and speed
>>> of the vehicle. A similar idea is being explored by the European 
>>> Commission.
>>> Although there is little data on accidents, the latest research suggests 
>>> there is
>>> cause for concern. Vehicles operating in electric mode can be 
>>> particularly hard to
>>> hear below 20mph (32kph), according to experiments by Lawrence Rosenblum 
>>> and his
>>> colleagues at the University of California, Riverside. Above that speed 
>>> the sound
>>> of the tyres and of air flowing over the vehicle start to make it more 
>>> audible.
>>> The researchers made sophisticated recordings of Toyota Prius hybrids 
>>> running on
>>> electric power and petrol-engined cars approaching at 5mph from 
>>> different directions.
>>> These were played to a group of subjects wearing headphones. The 
>>> subjects were asked
>>> to press one of two buttons to identify which way the vehicle was coming 
>>> from as
>>> quickly and accurately as possible.
>>> As expected, they could determine the direction of the petrol-engined 
>>> cars much faster.
>>> When natural background sounds, like the engine tickover of a parked 
>>> car, were added,
>>> the hybrids' direction sometimes could not be detected until they were 
>>> perilously
>>> close. Both sighted and blind subjects gave similar results.
>>> Beep, beep
>>> Dr. Rosenblum and his colleagues recently repeated the experiment 
>>> outside in a car
>>> park. This time blindfolded subjects stood three metres away from the 
>>> point where
>>> the vehicles passed. The researchers found that the hybrid vehicles had 
>>> to be around
>>> 65% closer to someone than a car with a petrol engine before the person 
>>> could judge
>>> the direction correctly.
>>> What sort of noise should electric-powered cars make? They could, 
>>> perhaps, beep as
>>> some pedestrian crossings do, or buzz like a power tool. Having worked 
>>> with blind
>>> subjects, Dr. Rosenblum is convinced of a different answer: "People want 
>>> cars to
>>> sound like cars." The sound need not be very loud; just slightly 
>>> enhancing the noise
>>> of an oncoming electric vehicle would be enough to engage the auditory 
>>> mechanisms
>>> that the brain uses to locate approaching sounds, he adds.
>>> Systems to do this are already being developed. Lotus Engineering, the 
>>> consultancy
>>> of a British sportscar-maker, recently signed an agreement with Harman 
>>> Becker, a
>>> producer of audio systems, to commercialise one. Lotus has worked on a 
>>> number of
>>> hybrid and electric vehicles and it was while these were moving around 
>>> its factory
>>> that the engineers thought they would be safer if they made a noise.
>>> The system Lotus uses was originally developed for a different reason: 
>>> to cancel
>>> out intrusive noises inside a car. Sound-cancelling works by analysing 
>>> any unwanted
>>> frequencies and then producing counteracting ones. The Lotus system was 
>>> adapted so
>>> that it could also produce sounds that change with speed and use of the 
>>> throttle,
>>> providing a familiar audible "feedback" to drivers of vehicles with a 
>>> silent engine.
>>> Adding external speakers allows pedestrians to hear the noise too.
>>> It is possible to create a different sound within a car from the one 
>>> that is heard
>>> outside, says Colin Peachey, a chief engineer with Lotus. Manufacturers 
>>> could create
>>> their own sounds according to how they perceive their models. Carmakers 
>>> already take
>>> engine noises seriously enough to use acoustic engineers to tune exhaust 
>>> pipes, especially
>>> for high-performance cars. Drivers of electric cars might in future even 
>>> be able
>>> to select different engine sounds, and maybe download them like 
>>> ringtones.
>>> Although some drivers might want to cruise in an electric car thundering 
>>> to the sound
>>> of a mighty V8 engine, it is not necessary-and traffic police may have 
>>> something
>>> to say about it. Synthesised engine noises could even help reduce noise 
>>> pollution,
>>> says Mr. Peachey. For instance, sound from the speakers at the front of 
>>> an electric
>>> car (or the rear if reversing) is highly directional. This means it is 
>>> more likely
>>> to be noticed by pedestrians in front or behind the vehicle. The noise 
>>> from an internal
>>> combustion engine, however, radiates in many directions-including 
>>> upwards into offices
>>> and bedrooms.
>>> Unique engine noises would still be possible. A sound-generator will be 
>>> fitted to
>>> the Fisker Karma, a luxury plug-in electric hybrid which goes into 
>>> production later
>>> this year. It will both alert pedestrians and enhance the "driver 
>>> experience", says
>>> Russell Datz of Fisker, based in California. As the Karma uses new 
>>> technology it
>>> is fitting that its sound should also be new, he adds. But Fisker still 
>>> has to decide
>>> what a luxury electric car should sound like.
>>>
>>> www.vipconduit.com
>>> and
>>> www.accessible-devices.com
>>> -------------- next part --------------
>>> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
>>> URL: 
>>> <http://mail.accessible-devices.com/pipermail/a-d_accessible-devices.com/attachments/20090525/9ad6dc29/attachment.html>
>>> This is an Announce only list.  Subscribers are not able to post to this 
>>> list.
>>> To unsubscribe from the Accessible Devices list copy the line below. 
>>> Paste it inthe To: line of a blank message and send it.
>>> a-d-unsubscribe at accessible-devices.com
>>> You may download our podcasts from this link,
>>> http://www.accessible-devices.com/Podcasts.html
>>> Or if you're using a podcatcher of some type the subscribe URL is.
>>> http://www.accessible-devices.com/feed.xml
>>> Visit our website at:
>>> www.accessible-devices.com
>>> Please feel free to pass this message on to a friend who might like to 
>>> subscribe.
>>> To subscribe to Accessible Devices send a blank e mail to:
>>> a-d-subscribe at accessible-devices.com
>>> Just follow the directions in the confirmation message when it comes.
>>> Please Note: Accessible Devices is not able to provide tech support for 
>>> software or products that we supply information about.
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> A-d mailing list
>>> A-d at accessible-devices.com
>>> http://mail.accessible-devices.com/mailman/listinfo/a-d_accessible-devices.com
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nfb-talk mailing list
>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfb-talk mailing list
> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org